Dyan McBride, Dean Zollman,
and Sytil Murphy Awarded First Place in the Apparatus Competition at the Summer
AAPT Meeting in Portland

Dyan McBride (presently at Mercyhurst College), Dean Zollman, and Sytil Murphy
and were awarded first place ($1000 cash award) in the apparatus
competition at the Summer Meeting of the American Association of Physics
Teachers in Portland. Their entry consisted of a lens to demonstrate
accommodation in the focusing of the human eye. This low-cost lens has a
variable focal length and was constructed of PVC and a transparent film.

The Apparatus Competition was established to recognize, reward, and publicize
worthwhile contributions to physics teaching through demonstration and
experiment. With huge advances in technology, many physics apparatus are now
commercially available. But even with these advances, physics research still
requires the inventive spirit of designing and building experimental apparatus
one's self. Whether developed to pique the interest of students, used in lecture
and demonstration, or simply used to help teach physics in new or fascinating
ways, teachers are continually engineering apparatus to aid physics instruction.
The Apparatus Competition is where teachers can share their apparatus with
others.

The Competition is held annually during AAPT's summer meeting and is open to all
members. Entries to the competition are screened according to the selection
criteria. The apparatus is either new in design or a modification of an
existing design, is not commercially available, specifics of it have not been
published and it must cost less than $65 to build.

To read more about the apparatus, see the
poster or read the
paper about the
apparatus.